I. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the general field of furnaces;
The invention is more directly related to furnaces for heat treating;
The invention is even more directly related to such a furnace which is equipped with a vacuum chamber wherein a desired vacuum may be created; and
The invention is most particularly directed to such a furnace wherein special door sealing arrangements and heat transfer arresting means are provided to enable a vacuum seal to be held at the door while the entire unit undergoes expansion and contraction because of temperature differentials created in the process. This assists in maintaining uniform temperature within the vacuum chamber.
II. Description of the Prior Art
I am familiar with many types of furnaces used in heat treating and other fields. I am familiar with attempts that have been made to provide economical heat treating furnaces.
I know of no prior art which utilizes a vacuum chamber having a self sealing expansion and contraction door sealing arrangement and heat transfer arresting means such as is described in this specification. In this respect, there is no prior art known to me.